A statewide bandh (strike) called by the BC JAC (Backward Classes Joint Action Committee) to protest the High Court's stay order on the 42 per cent quota for BCs in local body elections was observed in Telangana on Saturday, with support extended by the ruling Congress, along with the opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi and Bharatiya Janata Party.
R Krishnaiah, Chairman of the Backward Communities Joint Action Committee and a BJP Rajya Sabha member, had previously sought support from all political parties and civil society organisations for the strike. All sectors, barring emergency and essential services, were requested to cooperate with the bandh.
The agitation follows the Telangana High Court's interim stay order, issued on October 9, against a Government Order providing 42 per cent BC reservation in the upcoming local body polls.
Leaders from various political parties and BC organisations staged dharnas (protests) in front of Telangana State Road Transport Corporation bus depots, preventing vehicles from leaving.
The Telangana Congress leadership, including Ministers, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and party workers, actively participated in the protests. Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President B. Mahesh Kumar Goud, who joined the protests, stated that the public had observed the bandh peacefully and voluntarily. Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar, Vakiti Srihari, Seethakka, Konda Surekha, and party MP Anil Yadav participated in Hyderabad, while Minister Tummala Nageswara Rao joined the protest in Sattupalli.
Opposition BRS leaders and former Ministers Talasani Srinivas Yadav, V Srinivas Goud, and Gangula Kamalakar also took part, raising slogans demanding the implementation of the 42 per cent reservation for BCs. BJP Lok Sabha member Etala Rajender participated in the bandh at the Jubilee Bus Station.
Kalvakuntla Kavitha, founder of Telangana Jagruthi, also held a dharna and told reporters that the situation was a failure on the government's part to convince the courts to rule in favour of the reservations. She urged both the Congress and the BJP to "stop misleading BCs," adding: "Even if elections [local body] are not held immediately, nothing will happen. First ensure reservations for BCs."
A senior official of TGRTC (Telangana State Road Transport Corporation) reported that some disruption of services was witnessed at bus stations and depots during the early hours. Telangana Director General of Police B Shivadhar Reddy had previously appealed to all organisations to observe the bandh peacefully without causing inconvenience to the public, warning that stringent action would be taken against anyone who resorted to untoward or illegal activities.
Also read: SC rejects Telangana plea on 42pc BC quota stay
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